Ice Cream for Two
by Tabbyluna
Summary: A continuation of my story "Mahou Shojo". Torch and Deja Vu have their ice cream date.


"Get the vanilla," suggested Torch. "Vanilla's the least spicy of them all."

"One vanilla cone then!" Déjà Vu happily received her frozen treat from the man, and paid him with two silver coins. She thanked him, then watched as Torch was handed a small cup of cinnamon toast ice cream. According to her, it was her favourite flavour.

The two of them thanked the man behind the counter, then shuffled over to one of the many red booths that small ice cream parlor had. Despite it being the weekend, the place was not crowded at all, with only a couple of families enjoying some sundaes in the smaller booths. Déjà Vu and Torch walked over to a large booth with cushy seats and a big glass window, and sat opposite to each other. The two of them each took a bite out of their ice creams, and took in the environment in silence. The hum of the ice cream cooler, the tinny sound of the jukebox's music, the cheers of happiness from the children. What a good time to have a date.

"This is the first time I've ever had spicy ice cream," said Déjà Vu, looking down at her ice cream cone. "It's not really what I was expecting, but it's pretty good."

"Yeah, it is. Most Fire elementals don't really like cold foods to begin with, so some genius decided to make ice cream spicier to appeal to fire elementals' tastes. My Grandpa used to go on dates here with my Grandma when they were younger." She took a bite out of her ice cream, and licked her upper lip slowly. "I think my Mom and Dad came here for dates too."

"Huh, so I guess you could say it runs in the family to go on dates here," said Déjà Vu. Her ice cream was beginning to dribble, so she immediately licked at the cones corners, catching the droplets to the best of her ability.

"Yeah, it really does." She scooped up another big spoonful of her ice cream. "I think everyone in my family was either not straight or not cis, actually." She mentioned, and she watched as Déjà Vu's eyes grew wide with astonishment. Déjà Vu crossed her arms, covered with a long-sleeved turtleneck, and prompted Torch to "Tell me about it."

Torch grinned, and took another bite out of her ice cream. "Well," she started, ice cream melting into cream on her tongue. "When my Grandfather was a teen, he realised that he was asexual. His best friend at the time, my Grandma, also came out as both a transwoman and asexual. They both married each other, and then they adopted my Dad," she explained. She watched the way Déjà Vu's twintail moved as she nodded her head. It looked so silky and shiny in the rays of sunlight streaming in. Torch though Déjà Vu should wear her hair in twintails more often.

"And what about your Mom?" Asked Déjà Vu. The ice cream had already dribbled down to her hands, so she had given up and just started licking as much ice cream as she could.

"My Mom was also an orphan. But she got adopted by an aromantic dude who died before I was born. Mom said that he was trans and had breast cancer, and after he lost his job Mom surprised him by taking up a job at the dragon stables to help cover the medical bills. That was where she met my Dad." She tapped the bottom of her cup with her spoon. Darn, she was almost finished with her ice cream. She wished she had ordered a cone as well.

"And then there are my folks. I can't really remember the specifics, to be honest. Either Dad was bi and Mom was pan, or Mom was bi and Dad was pan. Either way, that's how my family became a statistic anomaly." She scooped up the final half-melted scoop of ice cream in the cup, then popped it into her mouth. Now was the time to let Déjà Vu talk. "What about you? What's your family like?"

She was nearly at her cone now, and was busy trying to slurp up the melted ice cream. "Hmm," she began. "I guess they would be supportive of me. Although I think everyone else in my family is straight and cis. I don't have any siblings either, so if I ever decide to come out, it'll just be me. But to be honest, the main reason why I haven't come out now is because I haven't figured out what to label myself as…" She took the first bite out of her ice cream, then turned to Torch. "You want a bite?"

"Sure thing," said Torch. Déjà Vu reached out and allowed her to nibble. Torch tried to nibble where she had already bitted. 'An indirect kiss...', she thought.

"I don't think it really matters what you label yourself, to be honest. But, if you aren't comfortable coming out now, well… I hope someday you'll be able to do it." She munched on the wafer cone, allowing its mild flavour to mix with the cinnamon aftertaste in her mouth. Wafer cones, she decided, made pretty decent palate cleansers.

Déjà Vu smiled, and reached her hand out to touch Torch's on the table. "Thanks Torch," she smiled, smile lines forming over her scars. "Thanks so much for everything."


End file.
